Most of
our beauty routines are all-too predictable. Cleanse, tone, moisturise,
apply an even layer of foundation, dab all over with powder — and our
make-up base is complete.
Well,
apparently, we’re all missing a trick. According to fans of the new
make-up technique face-contouring, rather than aiming for an even veil
of foundation, we should be daubing our faces with wide stripes of
bright white highlighter and thick blobs of chocolatey foundation,
before blending it all together.
They
claim it can hide your flaws and bring out your best features, slim
your face and jowls, fill out hollows, streamline a strong nose, soften a
square jaw and even offer an instant eye-lift.
Here,
four writers with very different face shapes put the technique to the
test with the help of celebrity make-up artists Oonagh Connor and Julie
Read.
ROUND FACE
Jenny Wood, 37, from London, before and after face-contouring
Jenny was impressed but says: 'This would be a big faff every day, but I'll make the effort for special occasions.'
Jenny Wood, 37, who lives with her husband and son, two, in London, says:
My
make-up routine hasn’t changed in over a decade — a quick puff of
powder and blusher; boring brown eyeshadow and mascara; and a slick of
lipstick.
I
know this does nothing to slim my round face or minimise the Roman nose
that’s caused untold misery since my teens. So I’m excited to try the
contouring technique that promises razor-sharp cheekbones and an instant
nose job.
Oonagh
starts by applying a liquid foundation, in my skintone, all over my
face with a fat, round brush. Then comes the technical bit. She takes a
light-coloured highlighter and uses it on the bits of my face we want to
draw attention to.
She paints a stripe down my nose to make it look slimmer, then brushes thick lines across my forehead and chin.
The
areas we want to minimise; the side of my cheeks, jaw, nose, and the
base of my chin are shaded with a dark foundation. She then uses the
brush to blend together the dark and light streaks.
After
what seems an age, she puts another layer of liquid foundation over the
top to soften the effect further. She then dusts a pale powder across
my forehead, the bridge of my nose and jawline.
But
I’m not done yet, it’s time to add colour. Oonagh uses a blusher with a
slight sheen on the apples of my cheeks. A smear of eyeshadow, a
once-over with an eyebrow pencil and mascara wand, and a slick of lip
gloss and I’m done.
The
end result is impressive. I look far more glamorous and I have
cheekbones! This would be a big faff every day, but I’ll make the effort
for special occasions.
HEART-SHAPED FACE
Jill Foster, 39, from Yorkshire, before and after face-contouring
Face fit for a 40th: Jill plans to try face-contouring again at her birthday celebrations
Jill Foster, 39, lives in Yorkshire with her husband Robin and twin girls Martha and Charlotte, 21 months. She says:
As
my 40th birthday approaches, I’ve been thinking more and more about
what I see in the mirror. My pores are more pin-cushion than perfect and
I have crepey lines around my eyes.
Thankfully,
these flaws are mostly concealed with a thin layer of make-up. But, as
for my heart-shaped face, I’ve pretty much got used to it after 20
years.
I
say 20 because my face was once a different shape. I was born with a
mild underbite and, until age 19, I had much more angular features. My
dentist referred me for surgery.
It
took me a while to accept my new reflection afterwards — my face is
rounder than it used to be — and I’ve always hated my high forehead.
I’d
love to narrow my face and shrink my forehead. Having recently piled on
a stone in weight, my cheekbones are buried in there somewhere.
Julie
chose a highlighter two shades lighter than my already pale skin to
make a fan shape on the centre of my forehead. She also highlighted my
chin and under my eyes, which will focus attention on the centre of my
face rather than on its new girth.
She
asked me to suck in my cheeks, then, using a foundation three shades
darker than my skin, filled in the hollows to ‘lift’ my cheekbones. With
the same colour she shaded the area above my temples to narrow my
forehead.
As
Julie blended the areas together with a brush, I began to see my face
take ‘shape’. A swoop of powder, eyeshadow and some coral lipstick and
it was done.
I looked great, but it was far more make-up than I would normally use. Maybe I could do it for my 40th?
DIAMOND-SHAPED FACE
Lucy Cavendish, 47, from Oxfordshire, before and after face contouring
Youthful beauty: Lucy can't believe her eyes when she looks in the mirror
Lucy Cavendish, 47, lives in Oxfordshire with her four children. She says:
I rarely wear make-up. I never really know where to start, so I slap on a bit of bronzer and lip balm and . . . that’s it.
But
I’d love to know how to tackle my flaws. My diamond-shaped face means
my chin can look pointy and, if anything, my cheekbones are just too
wide, which makes my eyes look a little lost. I’ve always felt you see
my nose and cheeks before you notice anything else.
Oonagh
begins by putting on a layer of foundation that evens out my skin tone.
Then, she paints two lines of highlighter across my forehead, a stripe
down the centre of my nose to make it look smaller, and a blob on my
chin. This will all draw the eye to centre of my face, she says.
Oonagh
also begins to paint huge diamond shapes on the sides of my face with a
dark foundation to make my face appear more symmetrical.
She outlines my thin lips in a berry colour, going just outside the line to make them appear bigger than they really are.
Next,
she blends it all in, using a brush. She evens out the dark tone in the
hollows of my cheeks, blends in the highlighter on my forehead, chin
and nose, and adds concealer under my eyes.
She
adds a flick of powder, then puts a hint of blusher on my cheekbones,
and applies a tiny bit of eyeshadow and mascara. She glosses my lips
with lip gloss — and announces me to be done.
When
I look in the mirror, I almost can’t believe my eyes. Who is this
stylish, youthful beauty staring back? I make the decision to invest in
some brushes and try it out at home — I’m a contouring convert.
SQUARE FACE
Lauren Libbert, 43, from North London, before and after face-contouring
Wedded to war paint: Lauren plans to forget the natural look
Lauren Libbert, 43, lives in North London with husband Colin and sons Eli, seven, and Gabe, six. She says:
When
you get older your face slips, stomach spreads and your bottom droops —
even your arms start flapping around. While I know all about shapewear
and hold-in knickers, I never realised you could use make-up to lift a
mid-life face.
My square face of late has only got squarer. My jaw is saggier than ever and I have plenty of under-eye wrinkles.
Like
my fellow ‘squares’ Heidi Klum and Demi Moore, the sides of my face are
as straight and wide as they are long. Oonagh tells me my goal is to
pull everything up and in — like a facial corset.
She
applies a base coat of liquid foundation matching my skin colour, then
gets to work. She applies thick stripes of bright white highlighter in
the centre of my forehead and chin, before going to town on the dingy
area under my eyes.
Next,
the corners of my forehead and either side of my jaw are shaded with a
dark brown foundation. This, she tells me, will add curves to my
straight hairline and lift the line of my jaw.
I
look like a chessboard, so am hugely relieved to be told it’s now time
for the blending. I watch fascinated as the colours are merged into my
skin with a foundation brush, before yet another layer of liquid
foundation matching my skin tone is swept over the top.
Fine white powder under my eyes, forehead and chin finishes the look.
The
effect is astounding. I’m no longer a square. My face looks narrower,
my jaw more defined — but, most impressively, Oonagh’s doodles on my eye
bags have taken years off me. With a swipe of blusher, my cheekbones
finally emerge.
Forget the natural look — I’ll be wedded to my war paint from now on!
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